BIBW 2992 (also named TOMTOVOK®) is known as the compound 4-[(3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)amino]-6-{[4-(N,N-dimethylamino)-1-oxo-2-buten-1-yl]amino}-7-((S)-tetrahydrofuran-3-yloxy)-quinazoline,
BIBW 2992 is a potent and selective dual inhibitor of erbb1 receptor (EGFR) and erbB2 (Her2/neu) receptor tyrosine kinases. Furthermore, BIBW 2992 was designed to covalently bind to EGFR and HER2 thereby irreversibly inactivating the receptor molecule it has bound to. This compound, salts thereof such as the dimaleate BIBW 2992 MA2 and its crystalline modification, their preparation as well as pharmaceutical formulations comprising BIBW 2992 or a salt thereof are disclosed in WO 02/50043 and WO 2005/037824. These documents are incorporated by reference regarding these aspects.
BIBW 2992 is suitable for the treatment of tumoral diseases, hypersecretory diseases of the lungs and respiratory tract, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, the bile duct and gall bladder. Indications to be treated with BIBW 2992 and combination treatments are disclosed in WO 2007/054550 and WO 2007/054551.
Besides the pharmacological activity of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) there are a variety of chemical, physical or physicochemical characteristics of the active substance relevant for the preparation of solid oral dosage forms, as oral powders, granules, pellets, tablets, capsules, chewable tablets, dispersible tablets, or lozenges. To achieve adequate formulation characteristics, as correct assay, content and mass uniformity, chemical and physical stability of the drug product and a proper dissolution rate, also the characteristics of the product intermediates have to be adequate for robust, fast and cost efficient processing.
Without being restrictive, examples of these parameters relevant for processing of the active agent (the drug substance) are
the stability of the drug substance under various environmental conditions which strongly may influence the stability of the final pharmaceutical formulation (the drug product), and physical characteristics of the drug substance such as bulk densities (i.e. poured and tapped density), particle morphology, shape, the ratio of length to width for needles, size distribution, electrostatic charging and surface adhesive properties, which may vary due to precipitation and drying conditions of the drug substance. These characteristics may significantly influence key features for processing of the drug substance into a final formulation, such as flowability and compressibility.
For actives sensitive to hydrolytic degradation it is substantial to minimize access of moisture within the manufacture of the drug product up to packaging as well as to take effective measures to prevent entrance of water into the final packaging in order to achieve an adequate shelf life of the product.
BIBW 2992 is a moisture sensitive compound and can quickly hydrolytically degrade at humid conditions, e.g. in the presence of water, moisture or moisture released by further excipients in the drug product, resulting a main API degradation product by release of dimethylamine from the side chain attached to position 6 of the quinazoline.